Rhones on the Range: Santa Barbara Producers Prep for Crucial L.A. Visit

by Gabe Saglie, Senior Editor, Travelzoo

photos by Bob Dickey

story published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on 10/22/15

Larry Schaffer

Larry Schaffer isn’t shy about his enthusiasm for grenache.

“It’s a beauty pageant wine – and sometimes I hate to say that, because it may sound chauvinistic.  But grenache really is pure beauty in a bottle,” says the man behind Santa Barbara’s Tercero wine label.  “It’s nuances of earth and fruit and acid and aromatics, all in one.”

It makes sense, then, that Schaffer is set to star on a winemaker panel touting Grenache’s merits at an upcoming gathering of the Rhone Rangers in L.A.  The non-profit educational group aims to raise awareness of domestically produced Rhone wines – 22 grapes ranging from the better-known syrah, viognier and grenache to the more obscure cinsault, counoise and picpoul.  Their fifth annual consumer affair in downtown L.A. will take place November 6^th and 7^th and will feature winemaker dinners, retail in-store tastings and a Saturday grand tasting.  “Grenache on the Rise,” a seminar set at The Atelier Room at the Reef in downtown Los Angeles and moderated by Wine & Spirits Magazine senior editor Patrick Comiskey, will take place at 10:30am on Saturday.

Andrew Murray

“I’m looking forward to being there not just to promote Rhone wines but also because, we can’t have Paso Robles outshine us,” says winemaker Andrew Murray, who’ll be joining Schaffer on the panel and pouring throughout the weekend.  Murray, who’s been focused on Rhone varieties from the Santa Ynez Valley for more than 20 years and who’s won cult status as a syrah maker, admits that the Rhone efforts of Santa Barbara’s viticultural neighbor to the north has the lion’s share of consumer attention.

This writer believes that our area’s love affair with Rhone wines is bittersweet.  On the one hand, those who make it can’t tout its merits enough.  It grows well everywhere – in the sweet spot that is Ballard Canyon, for sure, but also in cooler areas like Los Alamos and Sta. Rita Hills and hotter zones like Happy Canyon and Los Olivos.  And the wines they create are, inarguably, delicious.  “The hallmark of any great wine variety is that wonderful balance of fruit and funk,” asserts Murray,” and syrah has it in spades.”

Schaffer points to grenache as the quintessential holiday wine.  “That appearance of sweetness in the aromatics, because of its fruity character, and that great herbaceous quality – they go with a lot of different aspects of a Thanksgiving meal.”

At last year's Rhone Rangers tasting in L.A., Murray poured wines from the 2010 and 2011 vintages

But Rhones face an uphill battle in the marketplace, where consumers continue to turn in far larger numbers to counterparts like pinot noir and cabernet.  In Santa Barbara County in particular, “the area will continue to be known for pinot noir and chardonnay, at least in the near future,” admits Schaffer.

Michael Larner poured at last year's Rhone Rangers tasting in L.A.

Marketing has a lot to do with the Rhones’ woes.  Let’s be frank: Paso Robles has out-marketed Santa Barbara when it comes to pushing itself as a bona fide producer of syrah, grenache, viognier and Rhone blends.  And the Santa Barbara County Vintners Association, whose mission is to promote all local wines, has yet to find a cohesive, clear voice to promote this area’s Rhone efforts.

There are singular achievements of note, to be sure: Zaca Mesa, Fess Parker, Qupe, Margerum, Larner, Jaffurs.  But Santa Barbara’s shining Rhone stars “are still far and few between,” says Schaffer.

The key to Rhone success for now, then, hinges on education.  The Tercero tasting room in Los Olivos, for example, is one-stop shopping for curious consumers who want to taste wines like grenache blanc and single-vineyard mourvedre.

Craig Jaffurs poured at last year's Rhone Rangers tasting in L.A.

Murray admits, “I have no problem selling syrah” – a success story that has almost everything to do with luring consumers to his Los Olivos tasting room and sleek new visitor center in Foxen Canyon to sip and discover.  “The key is getting them to visit, to taste the wine in a fun environment with a little bit of entertainment and a little bit of education, and they enjoy it,” says Murray. 

So while grueling and slow and potentially tedious, Santa Barbara’s Rhone producers cannot underestimate the power of the hand sell.

That makes next month’s Rhone Rangers events all the more relevant, of course.  The SoCal locale is key, since the L.A. market remains the bread and butter of Santa Barbara and Central Coast wines.  And the personal stories that will inevitably emerge – about the quality of the wines and about the personalities behind them – is the best PR this movement can get.

More than 50 Rhone winemakers will be featured throughout the weekend.  Along with Tercero and Andrew Murray, Santa Barbara producers participating include Bernat, Epiphany, Fess Parker, Kenneth Volk Vineyards, Kita Wines, Margerum Wine Co. and Qupe.  For more information and for tickets, check out the Rhone Rangers website.

 

 

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At Fess Parker, Lunch in the Vineyard is a Lesson in Wine

by Gabe Saglie, Senior Editor, Travelzoo

At Fess Parker Winery, lunch is served.

During the throes of the 2015 wine grape harvest, the popular winery, set along Santa Barbara wine country's Foxen Canyon, introduced the Harvest Lunch series.  These intimate gatherings -- four in all -- featured a delicious sit-down lunch prepared by the winery's full-time chef, Barrett Crandall.  And they included a behind-the-scenes peek at harvest time activity with winemaker Blair Fox.

In mid-October, I got to attend the final harvest lunch, where the setting was an attraction all its own.  We sat around a long white-clothed table, under a matching canopy, on the winery's brand new terrace.  Opened in May, and adjacent to the tasting room that hosts hundreds of tasters each weekend, it's an open, airy, yet intimate space that creates a truly special tasting experience.

Each lunch featured an exclusive menu.  The theme for our gathering was "Cassoulet," and Chef Barrett's hearty dish of white beans, sausage and breadcrumb topping, was delicious.  It was paired with an autumn salad of frisee, apples, walnuts and dried cherries, and plenty of fresh baked breads. 

As we ate, Eli Parker, Fess Parker's son and the winery's CEO, and head winemaker Blair Fox, engaged us in conversation and offered insight into their business.  Winery President Tim Snider (and husband to Fess Parker's daughter, Ashley), poured the 2013 Bien Nacido Vineyard pinot noir from magnums.  And bottles of other award-winning Fess Parker wines -- Rodney's Vineyard viognier, Ashley's chardonnay and Rodney's vineyard syrah -- were spread across the table.

On this sunny afternoon, and surrounded by a garden that supplied fresh produce for our lunch and by vines that have graced this property for more than 25 years, this really was an idyllic vineyard meal.

After lunch, we followed Fox into the winery, where we witnessed wines being pumped from tanks to barrels, and then into the barrel room, where we learned about things like cooperage and fermentation.  An insider peek that enhanced our appreciation of the wines in our glasses.

And as we ended our tour, a telling observation: the license plate on Fox's dusty truck reads "SYRAHHH."  And I thought to myself, "Fess would be proud."

I'm told the Harvest Lunch series will pick up once again during the spring and will include walks through the vineyard.  Winery club members get first dibs on these limited-seating gatherings, but they're open to the public, too.  For more information, check out the Fess Parker website.

The garden adjacent to the new terrace was the source for much of our harvest lunch

This pinot offers pretty red berry aromatics, cherry-spice flavors and a silky mouth feel

Tim Snider made friends pouring the '13 Bien Nacido pinot from a magnum

Winemaker Blair Fox walked us through the winery

Head winemaker Blair Fox joined the Fess Parker team in 2003

Fox demonstrated punchdowns and showed us bins of fermenting wine

 

Fess Parker Winery, 6200 Foxen Canyon Road, Los Olivos, CA 93441. 805-688-1545.

Giving up the Wheel: Popular Food Truck Business Goes On the Block

by Gabe Saglie, Senior Editor, Travelzoo
published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on 10/12/15

Georgia’s Smokehouse, which in less than three years became one of Santa Barbara’s most high-profile food truck businesses, is up for sale.

 

“We have put a lot into the business and have a great reputation,” admits Chef Brian Parks, 42, who launched Georgia’s Smokehouse with his wife, Alissa, in March 2013.  “I think it deserves to continue, so we are looking for a buyer with the energy and enthusiasm to take it forward.”

 

The sale is being handled by Santa Barbara-based brokerage firm Compass First, which has listed Georgia’s Smokehouse for $190,000.  Claiming an annual cash flow of more than $100,000, the sale includes one fully-licensed mobile food truck (valued at $120,000), a calendar of pre-booked events and a commissary kitchen at Earl Warren Showgrounds.

 

For most of its run, Georgia’s Smokehouse has operated two trucks.  Their red-on-black façades, featuring a pony-tailed gal showing off a midriff and a flirty smile, have become a familiar sight on city streets.  And a busy weekly schedule has included daily lunch stops and myriad catered events, from weddings to festivals.

 

The food trucks’ success has hinged on Chef Parks, himself, who had previously shored up cred as the executive chef of the upscale Canary Hotel, downtown.  His Southern-inspired and affordable menus for Georgia’s include well-seasoned crowd pleasers that are slow-cooked over oak, hickory and Applewood: a Pulled Pork Sammy doused with a slaw of green cabbage and Granny Smith apples, a third-pound burger served with whiskey-caramelized onions and a Brisket Sandwich that’s smoked for 12 hours.  Most items, including several vegetarian options, feature the chef’s proprietary BBQ sauces and dry rubs.

 

The Parks’, who have a one-year-old son, say their decision to sell is personal, stemming from the strain of balancing business demands with family needs.  “I felt I needed to focus all my energy on the baby and on my husband and just didn’t have anything left for the business.” says Mrs. Parks, 35, who runs Georgia’s marketing and social media campaigns.

 

The business “has me spend way more time away from my family than I want to,” says Mr. Parks, who plans to leverage his fine dining, catering and hotel experience into a new professional venture soon.  “It just stopped being as much fun. I love the trucks, but I love my family more.”

 

Sale inquiries should be directed to Compass First’s Matt Olufs at 805-886-2919.

 

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Wine 101: Santa Barbara Learning Center Focuses on Lifestyle Education

by Gabe Saglie, Senior Editor, Travelzoo
story published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on 10/8/15

Ferran Contell imports Spanish wines into the U.S.

Ferran Contell just got back from Spain.  It’s familiar territory for him: he was born in Barcelona and grew up in Valencia.  And, ever since he and his wife moved to Santa Barbara last year, his life’s work has taken him back often.

Contell is a certified sommelier and owns Darsena Selections, a Santa Barbara-based import and distribution company focused on bringing hard-to-find Spanish wines to the U.S.  Spain’s famous Rioja, and the region’s signature Tempranillo grape, are in his purview often, of course.  “The Rioja wine region has been pursuing the elaboration of high quality wines for decades,” he told me this week, between vineyard visits in Spain.  “Its style of long-aged wines has become their hallmark, showing that Tempranillo is a top class varietal.  When I smell it, it takes me back to Spain.”

But through his business, and through consumer classes he’s teaching at Santa Barbara City College’s Center for Lifelong Learning, he’s shedding the spotlight on other Spanish wine growing havens.  “Rioja, Ribera del Duero, and Priorat are regions with impressive propositions already recognized by the most important wine publications in the U.S.” Contell admits.  “The pursuit of quality wines is more common than ever before” in other regions, too, though.

Contell visited Requena, in Valencia, during his recent trip to Spain

“In my last trip, I had the opportunity to explore the Valencia region, discovering surprising projects that I’m looking forward to seeing how they develop in the following years. Some of the varietals used are Muscat or Bobal, which are traditional grapes of the area, complemented with some international varietals.”

To share his findings, Contell is teaching a course titled “Discover the Truth About Spanish Wine.”  Students will meet two Friday nights – October 23 and 30 from 6:30 to 9pm – at SBCC’s Schott Campus, at 310 W. Padre St. in Santa Barbara.  The classes and materials cost $87.

Contell’s ultimate goal is to eliminate wine consumers’ intimidation.  Although “people and wine are close than ever before,” he says, “the wine world is very complex and rich, with so much to offer, that it remains overwhelming for the beginners. No matter how much you learn, there is something else to discover.”

Contell is also teaching a class called “A Few Good Noses: Wine Tasting and Selection for the Novice” over two nights, October 9 and 16.  “Aroma is really important because it constitutes 80% of the taste,” he insists.  “Aromas in wine can tell you if the wine is clean or has a defect… and it will help to find the right match (or contrast) to any dish.”

Contell’s courses are a sampling of an impressive lineup of approachable culinary classes put on by the SBCC Center for Lifelong Learning (or CLL).  This program was re-launched in 2013; a shift in state funding made it necessary to retool what was once the college’s popular Continuing Education program for adults.  I took my very first wine class through that program – my first focused foray into wine enjoyment – with the late Cork Millner.

Contell inspects barrels during his recent trip to Spain

Today, the CLL offers hundreds of classes each term, across myriad specialty areas.  It also produces one- and two-minute educational “Look and Learn” videos, and shares them on their website; Contell’s got one called “The Proper Way to Hold a Wine Glass.” 

The food and wine classes are especially popular, of course.   They’re affordable, and because they’re offered as one- or two-class sessions on weekdays, evening and even Saturdays, they’re accessible.  “Discovering the joys of wonderful wines, and being able to pair them with yummy food, is a perfect fit for our approach, as promoting knowledge of healthy living styles is part of the CLL mission,” says executive director Andy Harper.  Some of the upcoming class titles include, “Chocolate and Cheese: A Luxurious Pairing,” “Foods that Complement Great Wines,” “Fast and Fabulous Hors d’Oeuvres” and “Craft Beer and Food Pairing – What’s Not to Like?”

All classes are also taught by locally-based experts in their field, and Harper admits that “as the reputation of our classes has increased, so has the number of applications from new teachers interested in offering classes.”

For Contell, teaching what he knows is buoyed by his own sense of discovery in his new home.  In Santa Barbara wine country, “the best is still to come,” he says.  “All that’s necessary is in place: climate, soils, vines, and knowledgeable winemakers with boundless ideas. I am looking forward to tasting and learning more from this wonderful region.”

For more information and to sign up for Contell’s or any of CLL’s classes, go to www.thecll.org.

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Heavenly Spirit: Winemaker Reacts to His Wine Being Served on Pope’s Flight

by Gabe Saglie, Senior Editor, Travelzoo
story published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on 9/27/15

When the Twitter-sphere blew up with news that a Santa Maria Valley chardonnay was among the wines selected for the Pope Thursday, Ken Volk admits, “It was a nice surprise for my company.”

Ken Volk (photo by Bob Dickey)

Mr. Volk’s Santa Maria Cuvée, a white wine that the winemaker describes as “the flagship chardonnay from Kenneth Volk Wines,” was among 10 wines, and only two American wines, selected for Pope Francis’ short flight from Joint Base Andrews to New York City.  The wine is a standard offering on American Airlines’ international business class routes.  But it was specially handpicked by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which chartered the Boeing 777-200 aircraft, for the Pontiff’s short domestic flight.

Mr. Volk has long been known as one of California’s top chardonnay producers.  He produced it under the popular Wild Horse label in Paso Robles, which he founded in 1981 and sold in 2003.  In 2004, he bought the original Byron vineyard in the Santa Maria Valley from the Robert Mondavi Corp. and renamed it Kenneth Volk Vineyards. He’s been making world class chardonnays from his estate vineyard, and from renowned neighbor vineyards, ever since.

The wine list from the Pope's flight

Of course, it’s unlikely that, during his 35-minute flight, Pope Francis would have sipped through all 10 wines: a Champagne, three whites, three reds and three dessert wines.  But the historic reality here – the fact that the Pope’s first ever visit to the U.S. has become such a highly televised event and such a top story across all media – makes this serendipitous selection a very happy coincidence.  It’s positive PR by default, at least.

The winemaker described the Santa Maria Cuvée to me in detail, like this:

“It is a 100% chardonnay from the Santa Maria Valley – typically 85% to 100% barrel-fermented and aged on its fermentation lees.  For the past eight vintages, the Santa Maria Cuvée chard has been a blend of my former Estate Vineyard, Sierra Madre vineyard and Bien Nacido vineyard.  I use the term former, for I pulled my estate vineyard out this past winter – it was 31 years old, Wente selection, planted on its own roots, with about every strain of leaf roll virus known on 12-foot row spacing.  It is my intention to replant in 2017 on rootstock at tighter spacing.

“I would describe this as classic Santa Maria Valley chardonnay; however, I only go about 15-30% malo, for I like crisper wines and dislike butterballs.

“The fruit is hand-picked, whole cluster-pressed, the juice cold-settled 72 hours before racking off settling lees, and barreled in our refrigerated white room – at 58 degrees.  I use a variety of yeast strains – non-Saccromyces and Saccromyces isolates from Burgundy, Australia, Italy and Iberia.  I also ferment and age in an OXO barrel rack system that allows for complete lees-stirring without removing the bung, reducing oxidation and cross contamination.  I like the greater amount of texture it imparts to the mouth feel. 

“The wine is rich without being flabby. The dominant fruit flavors are Bosque pear and Granny Smith Apple."

The Kenneth Volk Santa Maria Cuvée Chardonnay retails for $28.

For more information, check out Kenneth Volk Wines' website.

 

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Romance Renewed: Local Winemaker Returns to Chardonnay After Long Hiatus

by Gabe Saglie, Senior Editor, Travelzoo
story published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on 9/24/15

Doug Margerum’s relationship with chardonnay is a love affair.  It has a happy ending, it turns out.  But like any passionate love story, there’s heartbreak, too.

 

The winemaker and the grape were certainly hot and heavy there for a while.  In fact, Margerum’s formative wine drinking years were dominated by chardonnay.  In the 1980s and 90s, when his family owned Santa Barbara’s Wine Cask restaurant and wine shop, he sold a lot of it.  And, in successful partnerships with winemakers Jim Clendenen and Bob Lindquist, he crafted chardonnay in earnest; the VITA NOVA project made private label chard for restaurants like Roy’s, Emeril’s and the Patina Group.

 

Margerum Wine Co. headquarters in Buellton

But then came the proverbial itch, in the early 2000s,when Margerum underwent a culinary metamorphosis, of sorts.  He left VITA NOVA.  He sold the Wine Cask (though he’s part of a team that has since bought it back).  And he launched his own label, Margerum Wine Company, which introduced him to the seductive wiles of other whites.  In a breakup letter that he wrote to chardonnay in 2001, Margerum admits to a recent fling with another: “I got this little sauvignon blanc and brought it home with me.  I don’t say this to hurt you, but just to illustrate the depth of my desperation.  It was a young wine with one of those perfect structures that only youth and maybe a perfect microclimate can give.  I mean, just perfect.  It had length like you wouldn’t believe and a taste that just wouldn’t quit.  Every man’s dream, right?”

 

French oak barrels stacked high at MWC

In heart wrenching fashion, he goes on to admit that breaking up is hard to do: “Chardonnay, I’m just going crazy without you, and everything I drink just reminds me of you.”

 

But, alas, it was over.

 

That tryst with sauvignon blanc, by the way, was no passing fancy.  His eponymous brand has grown to become synonymous with some of the best sauv blanc in Santa Barbara.  His annual Syabrite release ($21) is a crisp blend of several vineyards; in 2011, it made it on Wine Spectator’s coveted Top 100 list.  The high-end “D” Sauvignon Blanc ($36) employs 24-hour skin contact and a combination of barrels and steel tanks to generate a luscious and brilliant wine.

 

Margerum Wine Company, which has grown from 240 cases in 2001 to up to 14,000 cases today (though lower yields in 2015 will likely yield 8000 cases), has also gained a solid reputation for its grenache blanc, the UBER syrah, the M5 blend of Rhone grapes and several warm-weather reds.  Margerum also crafts wine for myriad private labels, including Happy Canyon and Jamie Slone.

 

First loves, though, are hard to shake.  They have a way of lingering on the heart.  And sometimes, they have a way of coming back.

 

If there’s a matchmaker in this love story – a vehicle that’s allowed Margerum to rekindle his affair with chardonnay – it’s Barden, his brand new label.  I ventured to Buellton earlier this month for an introduction, and found that the physical location of Margerum’s winery, in a pair of industrial buildings that offer sweeping views of Sta. Rita Hills, has much to do with launching this new chapter in his winemaking career, and with breathing new life into his relationship with chardonnay.

 

“Coming here helped me realize that a colder climate makes better wines,” he tells me as we look out the windows of his second-floor office; the cool climes of these west-reaching vineyards are generating world-class chardonnay and pinot noir these days.  “It allows for better retention of acids.  Warm, sunny days and cold nights yield ripe grapes with lots of flavors and great acidity.”

 

Margerum makes lunch for his employees every day

This Buellton facility became the nerve center of Margerum’s operations four years ago; he’d made wines in Los Olivos for many years before that.  The large winery is kept at 55 degrees year-round; on my visit, it was filled with barrels and fermentation bins.  The adjacent cold room, which houses certain whites and rosés, is kept at a constant 45 degrees.  The nearby warehouse is stacked to the ceiling with ready-to-ship cases.  And the onsite kitchen is fully stocked with herbs and spices and just-delivered produce; Margerum cooks a hearty lunch from scratch every day for his entire crew, and on this day, the aromas of spaghetti carbonara and grilled sausages with peppers wafting from the stovetop are inescapable.

Before I join the crew for lunch – they’ve just finished sorting grapes – I taste through the four just-released wines from Barden, which is named for Margerum’s middle name; the word also means “boar’s den,” which explains the small tusked wild pig etched on each label.

 

Margerum, right, and winemaker Michael Miroballi

This project hinges on quality of fruit and on contracts that Margerum’s secured at prized grape growing spots like Sanford & Benedict and La Encantada.  The Margerum team – including winemaker Michael Miroballi and assistant winemaker Lucas Meisinger – also employs thoughtful techniques aimed at generating elegant wines: partial whole cluster fermentation, the use of free run juice, slow extraction and a barrel program that includes new, high-end wood.

If the 2014 Barden Chardonnay ($48) is meant to close the books on a 15-year separation, it does not disappoint.  It’s big and flavorful, buoyed by brilliant acidity.  Balanced, textured and nuanced, it exhibits tropical and white stone fruit flavors, toasty aromas and a long polished finish.

 

Barden also features the Fonte ($36), the French word for “source" -- a zippy and flinty blend of chardonnay, pinot blanc and pinot gris.  The Pinot Noir ($82) is earthy rich and spice-driven, with black cherry flavors and firm tannins.  The Syrah ($60) is rich, smooth and savory.

 

But throughout lunch, I keep revisiting the chard, as does Margerum.  And as flavors of butter and peaches continue to emerge, I think back to a line from another letter – one that Margerum wrote to his wine club members earlier this summer to announce the arrival of Barden, and of a renewed romance.  “I am in love again,” he writes, “and from sorrow and pain, a Phoenix has risen from the ashes.”

 

Cheers to that!

 

 

Visit www.margerumwinecompany.com.

 

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History Served by the Glass: Winemaker Opens Tasting Room in Santa Barbara's Casa de la Guerra

story and photos by Gabe Saglie, Senior Editor, Travelzoo
story published in the Santa Barbara News-Press on 9/17/15

Standing Sun's John Wright

Santa Barbara’s newest wine tasting room is, in fact, a link to its past.

“I love this space,” winemaker John Wright told me during a conversation last week.  “It’s original, and it’s rustic in an organic and natural way.”

Mr. Wright, 46, has transformed a small room inside Case de la Guerra into a wine venue.  He calls it, “The Bodega,” which is Spanish for “winery.”  For years, this quaint 400-square-foot space, with undulating adobe walls and waning patches of paint, was used as a storage room.  But Mr. Wright’s goal is to return it to its 19^th century roots, when Jose de la Guerra, the fifth comandante of the Presidio, used it as a wine cellar.

Casa de la Guerra was built between 1818 and 1828.  It became the social epicenter of Santa Barbara at the time, and de la Guerra’s descendants actually used it as a residence all the way into the 1940s.  Today, it’s part of the picturesque El Paseo complex, just off State Street, and is under the auspices of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, which runs it as a museum.
 

Pictures hang from pre-existing holes in the old adobe walls

 

The corners are cozy inside the Bodega

The Trust tasked Mr. Wright with the modern day use of the former wine cellar as much for his knack as a winemaker as for his expertise as a preservation architect.  The group’s goal was to find a creative and deferential way to increase visitor foot traffic to the historic Casa.  “I spent many years restoring farmhouses and barns on the East Coast, throughout New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania,” says Mr. Wright, who earned myriad degrees in historic preservation from the University of Maryland, and who now lives in Santa Ynez.  “I have an understanding of a structure like this, and [a respect] and excitement about how to use this space.”

Mr. Wright's approach is hands-off.  "This is not a renovation," he insists.  "I'm working with what's already here and just adding pieces that are free-standing."

A couple of bar stools, a few barrels-turned-tables and a leather couch adorn the room.  Comfy white cushions line bench-like seating built into the walls.  And the paintings throughout the room hang from holes that already existed on the walls.  They’re original works by Ojai artist Gino Hollander – pop art-inspired pieces whose brown, gray and white tones, curiously, match perfectly the muted, fractured hues that have been gracing these walls for decades.  Mr. Hollander passed away at the age of 92 last week.

Mr. Wright is pouring his Standing Sun wines here.  He founded the label in 2007 with his wife, Emmy-winning soap opera actress Laura Wright, after the couple’s move to California.  Mr. Wright shifted careers from architect to winemaker under the tutelage of well-known local vintner Joey Tensley and, with a focus on Rhone wines like syrah, grenache and viognier, has grown the brand to more than 2000 cases a year.  Standing Sun operates a tasting room in Buellton that doubles as both a concert venue for various high-profile groups and an art gallery.

For his Casa de la Guerra location specifically, Mr. Wright plans to introduce a second label sometime in 2016.  He’s also working on intimate seating in the open-air courtyard that overlooks both The Bodega and De la Guerra Plaza across the street.  For now, Mr. Wright is offering a tasting of six wines for $15, and he’s selling wines by the glass.  

“We’ll have wines by the carafe soon, as well as food components, like cheese and charcuterie plates,” he says.  “I’m trying to create a cool, laid back place for locals to walk in, kick back and just enjoy some wine.”

And to get a little taste of Santa Barbara history, too.

Standing Sun’s The Bodega, 15 E. De la Guerra St., Santa Barbara. Thursday-Sunday, Noon-5pm.  805-904-8072. www.standingsunwines.com.

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